So Long, Earth.

"In the summer the ants were a-working,

While the grasshopper sang in the sunshine.

The ants asked “Why don’t you store food for winter? When it’s cold, you’ll have no food to spare.”

Grasshopper sang,"Bove us all, there will always be sunshine. And there always will be time to play!”

This lyrics from my 2 years old daughter's favorite animation CoCoMelon, greatly reminded me on how the world has wasted days like Grasshopper did, not preparing for heydays of Corona, while Ants, scientists & philanthropists, were always there reminding us, time and again.

I watched a series of relevant videos on Corona Virus and this is what I could understand on our behavior, similar to Grasshopper. 

I will start with a 2015 Ted talk given by philanthropist and humanitarian Bill Gates, titled ' Next Outbreak? We Are Not Ready'. Gates clearly pointed out how he and his team helped fighting Ebola and how evident it became to him, that a next outbreak can easily and any day spread, and the world is not ready for it. He warned us, but neither right wing nor left wings Governments focused on him and his warnings.  

You can watch Gates' Ted talk here -https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_the_next_outbreak_we_re_not_ready?language=dz

During the talk, he showed a clip of movie Contagion, mocking how it was not easy - as shown in movie - handsome doctors will come to rescue for all.

I ignored his mocking and wanted to see how good looking doctors saved the world, so I decided to watch a fiction movie amidst India's lock-down announcement. To be frank, Contagion was nothing sort of fiction but seemed like a reality horror drama, as if like movie writer foretold what's going to happen 10 years since the movie released. 

As my curiosity piqued, I went digging how the movie was made? Was it total fiction or a solid insight was behind it? It turned out epidemiologists and doctors were consulted, and it was a solid research that was depicted in movie. Director Steven Sodenbergh told during movie launch interviews what one thing really surprised him was, how easy it seemed to him that a pandemic can strike anytime on world. A movie director got it while filming it, but not people who were thick of it. 

Recently epidemiologist, who consulted the movie caught Corona, and told,'If I can get it, anyone can get it.' 

 Bill Gates was again summoned by TED team, requesting his insight into how US became an epicenter of this world Pandemic. Bill informed that signs of Pandemic were already there by January, which Washington Post confirmed that a warning to White House was issued on 18th January, and no one acted swiftly to make and procure test kits, no serious talks for researching vaccine and no travel restrictions. 

Watch him here: https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_how_we_must_respond_to_the_coronavirus_pandemic

I sometime wonder how taking a big decision like lock-down or WFH policy implementation in companies, when is the right time? Are leaders afraid that acting to soon and people may criticize them? Or a significant numbers of cases and deaths will later support their decision for a lock-down? I know for sure Arab countries acted swiftly closed down borders for all while USA is still deciding. 

Moving to another movie, Parasite, recently released by Amazon Prime. It piqued interest by its title, relating it to recently binged Contagion, but it turned out something different. 

Parasite was about class divide in South Korea, of how low income population living in ghetto - living in filth and stinky neighborhood - and how they deceived and sneaked into a rich and perfect upper-class society, faking their superiority, getting caught in their own act and at the end making mess of everything. The protagonist ends up getting locked down in tunnel-cum-basement for rest of his life, hiding from law enforcement.  

Doesn't it sound like our own story? We humans have made living in earth a filthy and stinky place, with population and pollution, faking our superiority and sneaking into perfect world of nature and making a mess of it? And now we all are locked down?

In the very last scene of Parasite, protagonist's son writes him a letter, hoping to act on a perfect plan to earn money and being part of that perfect world, and until them he asks his father, So Long.

Our future generations will also be seeking humanity make a perfect plan, to be part of perfect nature. 

As the animation on Grasshopper progress, here's what happens -

"Time went by, and along came the winter. And the wind gave a cold icy chill.Snow fell down, and there was no more sunshine.So the grasshopper went up the anthill and sang: “I am cold, I am wet, I am hungry. And I’m sorry I played the days away.”

"He was cold, and embarrassed, and sad, But the ants told him that he was welcome.Then he thanked them and felt really glad! And the grasshopper said in future seasons.Work comes first, then he’ll have time to play!"

I am sure like Ants, nature will give us more time, and we better learn the lesson that Grasshopper did. I guess the Earth is waiting for this for, So Long.

You can see this beautiful animation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TOTd78ZTDGE